Unilateral sanctions and attempts to demonize Russia only exacerbate the confrontation further, the Russian diplomat believes

VIENNA, June 26. /TASS/. The attempts to build isolated security areas around NATO or the European Union (EU) are doomed to failure, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said at an annual security review conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday.

"Today, NATO and EU countries need to answer one question: what security architecture they perceive: divided, in confrontation with Russia, or united, in joint work with it on common threats," the high-ranking Russian diplomat said.

"The attempts to build security islands either around NATO or the European Union in the current condition will fail. Unfortunately, multilateral formats are so far used not to restore confidence but to exert pressure on Russia, including by restricting dialogue," he noted.

"These days, only a lazy person does not speak about the need of de-escalation, the prevention of dangerous military incidents and the prevention of ‘the wrong perception’ of the parties’ intentions," Grushko pointed out.

"Hardly anyone would dispute that but how is it possible to achieve this amid the full freeze of military contacts, the rupture of other channels of political and public communication?" the senior Russian diplomat said.

"The answer to this question is obvious: systematic cooperation in the zone of common interests has been terminated, due to which one more resource for strengthening confidence and security stands idle," Grushko said.

"Unilateral sanctions and the attempts to demonize Russia and impose the image of an enemy further exacerbate confrontation," the deputy foreign minister said.

The senior Russian diplomat spoke for restoring confidence and consolidating efforts on a truly collective basis for building a community of equal and indivisible security in the common European space, which, in turn, will "help both settle conflicts and fight common threats."